Zeenews Bureau
Lucknow: Attacking the Centre, CM Mayawati said on Tuesday that the Central government is postponing the issue of division of Uttar Pradesh into four new states despite the Legislative Assembly passing a resolution in its favour.
The Centre had yesterday sent back UP`s proposal to divide the state and sought reply on eight to nine questions pertaining to the matter like the boundaries, new capitals etc and also about the spiralling debt burden of the country`s most populous state.
Addressing a press conference in the state capital, Mayawati said, “Media reports which claimed that the Centre has returned the proposal is not correct… Centre has followed its ‘old norm’ by leaking it to media even before the state government was apprised of it.”
“The letter is against the Constitution and the state government will respond to it. If the Centre moves forward on reorganising the state then the state will give whatever information is required, but as of now the Centre has not done anything on the basis of which they want answers from us,” Mayawati said.
“The Centre has asked for clarifications which suggest that they want to postpone it. As per the Constitution, the law has to be passed by Parliament and the state has no role in it,” she added.
“Because Centre was not acting on my letters that is why we had to pass a resolution by the state Assembly,” she said.
Mayawati also questioned the very fact that the Centre has replied to her letter by pointing out that, as per the Constitution, proposal should have been sent to the President.
“…it means that the Centre has deemed no value to the proposal by the state Assembly which was based on the sentiments of the state,” she said attacking the UPA government.
Referring to the creation of Uttarakhand in 1998, Mayawati demanded that the Centre should follow a similar procedure to divide UP.
Chief Minister Mayawati had proposed division of UP into four states -- Awadh Pradesh, Poorvanchal, Budelkhand and Pachim Pradesh -- in November taking the opposition by surprise. The ruling BSP pushed through the resolution in the state Assembly amid stiff resistance from the opposition benches and sent it to the Centre for approval.
The move was dubbed as a political gimmick ahead of next year`s Assembly elections.
